First Valentine's Day (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve and Catherine remember their first Valentine's Day.


**Notes:** I'm sorry, REAL McRollers, I really wanted to get this finished to post *on* Valentine's Day again this year, but it just wasn't to be. Hope you enjoy the flashback by way of apology :-)

Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the always fabulous reactions and the love and laughter every day.

And on a personal note, welcome to my newest little cousin, born yesterday!

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _First Valentine's Day (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

 **Tuesday, February 14**

Catherine and Lea were in the governor's office finishing up a meeting at the end of the day.

"So I'll have Tara get a headcount on the votes for the new education initiative by the end of the week," Catherine said.

"Excellent, thanks."

Catherine tapped the pile of papers against the desk to straighten them before sliding them into a folder.

"Big Valentine's plans?" Lea asked.

"Not really. We never plan anything big. There should be some chocolates waiting for me at home."

"Nice."

"You?"

"We did a little family breakfast this morning. Lance made heart-shaped pancakes for everyone."

Catherine smiled. "Aww."

"And the kids are having dinner at Lance's parents' so he and I can have the evening to ourselves."

"Oh, nice."

Lea chuckled. "Mmhmm, so they'll come back full of sugar and bouncing off the walls, but at least we'll have enjoyed a couple hours before trying to wrangle them into bed."

"Of course," Catherine said with a grin.

"So, chocolates?"

"Kind of a tradition. Provided he didn't forget. He's been on cloud nine with finding out Niblet is a girl and then feeling her move."

Lea grinned. "Daddy got a bit of a one-two punch there." She laughed. "Possibly literally in the second case."

Catherine joined her laughter.

"But even with all that," Lea continued, "I doubt he forgot."

"Probably not, he's been pretty good the past couple years."

"Well, enjoy. I'll see you in the morning."

"You, too. Have a great night."

* * *

Catherine smiled at the box of chocolates in the center of the table on the deck when she stepped outside for dinner later that evening.

She picked up the box. "Aww, you didn't forget."

Steve turned with a platter of hot-off-the-grill chicken. "Forget? Why would I forget?"

"It's been an eventful couple of days," she pointed out.

He smiled warmly, remembering all that had happened since Friday. His expression settled into an easy smile and he set down the platter and said, "Even if I had, it'd be hard to miss the displays in all the stores."

"True," Catherine said, taking her seat and putting the box back down. "But you don't have the best track record remembering this particular holiday, store displays or no store displays."

"Oh, one time–" he balked.

She quirked an eyebrow. "One time?"

"Okay, more than one time," he admitted, sitting as well.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, thoroughly amused.

He grinned. "Pretty much every time."

She laughed. "Starting with the very first time when you inadvertently asked me to hang out on what happened to be Valentine's Day."

"I probably should have realized when everyone else was coupling off," he said with a wince. "I did figure it out before we left for town."

"You did," she acknowledged.

"Freddie leaving to meet Kelly with a big heart-shaped box of candy was a pretty good clue."

She leaned over and kissed him. "Keen investigative mind even back then," she teased.

* * *

 **Saturday, February 14, 1998**

 **Bancroft Hall, Naval Academy, Annapolis**

"All right, man, I'm headed to meet Kelly," Freddie Hart said to his roommate. "I'd invite you along but … you know …" he added pointedly.

"Sure, no problem," Steve said easily. "I don't mind. Catherine and I are gonna hang out."

Freddie looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Today?"

"Yeah, today."

"You're gonna hang out with Catherine _today_ ," he repeated with emphasis.

"What's the big deal?"

Freddie help up his hands defensively. "Nothing, nothing. Okay, you don't want to make it a big deal. I got you. That's fine." He turned to his desk and opened the top drawer, taking out a large heart-shaped box of candy.

Steve's eyes widened.

"Wait, is it Valentine's Day?"

Freddie scoffed. "Like you didn't know." He looked at Steve's ashen face and cracked up. "You didn't know!"

Steve groaned, running a hand over his face. "No wonder she asked if I was sure."

"He didn't know," Freddie said to himself, still laughing. "Guess McGarrett's got himself a valentine after all."

"It's not … we're not …"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Freddie said, waving a dismissive hand. "I know, you're 'not' …" He shook his head, snickering. "On Valentine's Day, you're 'not.' "

"Friends can hang out on Valentine's Day, it's not a big deal." He paused for a beat. "Right?"

Freddie snorted. " 'Not a big deal.' Good luck with that." He stepped over to the door, opening it just as Catherine was raising a hand to knock.

"Oh!" she said, surprised.

"Hey, Rollins," Freddie greeted her.

"Hey."

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Thanks. You, too." She nodded at the box in his hand. "Say hi to Kelly."

"I will." He looked back at Steve and smirked. "You two have fun."

Catherine stepped back so Freddie could go past her, missing the look Steve sent after his roommate.

He stepped up to the doorway, sheepishly running a hand over the back of his neck.

"I uh … I didn't realize it was Valentine's Day."

"I thought maybe that was the case," she said with a small grin. She motioned to the hallway. "You ready to go?"

"I … you still wanna hang out?" he asked.

"Of course."

He blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"Unless you've got a hot date?" Her voice was all teasing, but she glanced up at him through her lashes and held her breath, waiting for the answer.

"What? No," he said quickly. "No … I … no." He smiled as she relaxed. "All right, let's go. Lead the way, Rollins."

* * *

As they walked through downtown Annapolis, red, white, and pink hearts as well as other Valentine's motifs were featured prominently in many shop windows.

Steve shook his head, looking around.

Catherine chuckled. "It's pretty hard to miss, huh?"

He glanced at her. "Ah, it's all made up by the greeting card and candy companies anyway to make money."

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh no, you're one of those?"

"One of what?"

"A Valentine's Day … Grinch."

"Isn't the Grinch Christmas?"

"You know what I mean."

"Look around here and tell me this isn't overdone."

"Overdone, sure. The greeting card and candy companies definitely exaggerated the holiday and made it into what it is today, but they didn't invent it. That goes back to the Middle Ages."

"If you say so, but I still think it's all hype."

"I dunno, McGarrett, I think that's a pretty lame excuse to avoid buying a girl chocolates."

He balked. "I'm not …" He shook his head and motioned around them. "Are you telling me you think you prove your love by giving someone flowers or chocolates on a certain day?"

"No, of course not. I mean, my parents certainly didn't get to spend every Valentine's Day together, but they did something when they could." She gave a little shrug. "It's nice to give chocolates or flowers or a card or whatever's right for that particular couple. It's not necessary, but it's nice."

She shifted closer to avoid bumping into a couple walking in the opposite direction and when she looked back at him, he had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

He looked at her and smiled. Nodding across the street to a familiar diner, he asked, "Do you want to get a milkshake?"

She smiled broadly. "Sure." Noticing another storefront, she said, "Oh, let me just run into the drugstore real quick. I need to pick something up."

He followed her inside, nodding when she said she'd be right back. He waited at the front of the store, looking around.

Spotting one of the ubiquitous Valentine's Day displays, he stepped over to it. Though fairly picked over, he found a small box of chocolates and smiled, picking it up. He looked around and, not seeing Catherine yet, headed over to the register to pay.

The young man behind the counter grinned as he rung up the box. "Leaving it a little late, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry?" Steve asked, turning back from checking over his shoulder for Catherine.

"I said you're leaving it a little late to get a Valentine's gift."

"It's not really a …" He sighed, deciding to forego the usual correction. "Yeah, I guess so."

"That'll be $5.25."

Steve was just accepting the small bag and his change from the store clerk when Catherine appeared beside him.

"What'd you get?" she asked curiously.

"I'll show you at the diner," he said. He glanced at the bottle of citrus-scented shampoo in her hand.

"They used to carry this brand at the Midshipmen Store last year, but they stopped," she explained.

He nodded, knowing the scent well, having noticed it the day they met and many times since.

She quickly completed her own purchase and they headed across the street to the diner.

They snagged a small table in the corner and after ordering their milkshakes, she smiled and asked, "Okay, what's your mystery purchase?"

He pulled the small red box of chocolates out of the drugstore bag and put it on the table in front of her. He sat back, waiting for a response.

She gasped slightly in surprise and then looked up. "What happened to 'it's all hype invented by the candy companies'?"

He shrugged. "It is. But I don't make excuses."

She smiled at that, picking up the box. "So you bought a box of chocolates to prove a point?"

"I bought a box of chocolates _for you_ to prove a point," he corrected.

She inhaled, her eyes flying to his.

He smiled crookedly, nodding at the box. "So now you gotta try one."

"I doubt they'll let us eat them in here," she said.

"Only one way to find out." He looked over and spotted their waitress Sharon at a nearby table.

As she turned from taking their order, he raised a hand. "Excuse me, ma'am," he called.

She took a couple steps toward them and said, "Your milkshakes should be right out, darlin'," with a pleasant smile.

"Thank you, ma'am. Would it be all right if we ate these chocolates in here?" he asked, motioning to the box in Catherine's hands.

Sharon winced. "Oh, you're really not supposed to have outside food …" she began. Looking at their hopeful faces, she shook her head and waved a hand at them. "Oh, go on. It's Valentine's Day." She put a hand on her hip. "I think it's so sweet you got your girlfriend chocolates. My Harry used to do that for me," she said wistfully.

"Oh, we're not …" Catherine started.

"Let me check on those shakes," she said, already turning away.

"Well, you heard the lady, Rollins, crack 'em open," Steve said, grinning.

Laughing, she opened the plastic wrap and took off the top of the box. Inside were four chocolate pieces covered in pecan chips.

Her brow knit slightly but she quickly schooled her features, looking up to see him very obviously waiting for her to try one.

She smiled in amusement and picked up one of the chocolates, taking a bite.

"Well?" he asked as she chewed.

"Mm." She swallowed, smiling noncommittally.

He grinned, taking that as answer enough.

"Here, you try one," she said, pushing the box toward him.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. I gotta save room for my shake."

He popped one of the chocolates in his mouth, nodding as he chewed. "Not bad."

Sharon returned with their milkshakes, setting a chocolate one in front of each of them.

"Oh, the pecan ones," she said, her lip curling slightly. "Did they run out of the good stuff?"

"The good stuff?" Steve asked, his eyes going to Catherine who looked back a little sheepishly.

"Ya'll enjoy those shakes," Sharon said before walking away.

"You don't like the chocolates?" he asked Catherine.

"I don't really like pecans," she admitted.

"Why didn't you say something?"

She sighed. "I didn't want to ruin it for you."

"Ruin it?"

"If I just said I didn't like them, you might have figured you were right about Valentine's Day being pointless." She smiled softly. "I didn't want this to be the only time you bought a girl chocolates."

He paused before exhaling a little sigh. "I didn't mean it was pointless, just … I don't know … way overblown."

"It is."

"You shouldn't buy someone chocolates, or flowers or whatever because it's Valentine's Day. You should do it because you want to."

She nodded. "I agree. But the two aren't mutually exclusive. You can do it on Valentine's Day _because_ you want to."

He paused thoughtfully.

When he didn't reply, she smiled and picked up another of the chocolates.

"You don't have to …" he started, reaching for it.

"Get out," she said with a grin, invoking one of her grandmother's favorite phrases. "It's still chocolate. And it was very sweet." She chuckled at the word choice. "Literally."

He smiled softly and watched her eat the piece.

"I don't think this'll be the last time I buy a girl chocolate," he said quietly, causing her to flush slightly at his gaze.

"I hope not," she replied, matching his tone and the heat in his eyes.

* * *

"And it wasn't," Catherine said, looking at the heart-shaped box on the deck table with a fond expression.

They had re-lived the memory together, sharing their recollections as they ate dinner.

"Nope," he agreed. "I still think it's overdone with all the themed-candy and cards and everything but … I also like your theory. Do it because you want to, not because you have to."

She smiled.

"So, time for dessert?" he asked, lifting the lid.

"Back to the variety box?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to be on the safe side in case Niblet's not a fan of cherry cordials or chocolate covered cherries."

She smiled, touched, though not surprised, by his thoughtfulness. "Only one way to find out," she said, recalling his words from the diner years ago. She picked up a cherry cordial and took a bite.

"Well?" he asked, waiting as eagerly as he had nineteen years ago.

She nodded, her smile touched with relief. "We're good. And those are very good," she said, reaching for the other cordial.

He laughed. Addressing her stomach, he said, "Thanks, Niblet. I know it's your first Valentine's Day, but making Mommy give up ketchupy eggs _and_ cherry cordials would've been rough."

Catherine grinned. Looking at the chocolates thoughtfully, she said, "Hmm, while we're at it …" She picked up a pecan cluster.

"But those are …" he started, but she had already taken a bite. He winced, watching her and waiting.

She smiled, pleasantly surprised. "Huh. Pecan and chocolate for the win."

Steve laughed. "Haha, atta girl, Niblet!"

Smiling, she leaned over and kissed him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Steve."

"Happy Valentine's Day," he returned. "To both of my girls."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

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